Drain Commissioner cleared by state AG's Office

Read the letter that Kim Warren Eddie, special prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office, sent to Bay County Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury regarding the clear of charges against Bay County Drain Commissioner Joseph L. Rivet.

The state Attorney General's Office has found that "errors" made by Bay County Drain Commissioner Joseph L. Rivet did not rise to the level of crimes.

Kim Warren Eddie, special prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office, wrote a letter to Bay County Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury indicating that a Michigan State Police investigation into Rivet's bid-letting process will not yield criminal charges.

"I do not find any basis for action in this matter and would direct that the matters are closed," Eddie wrote in the letter, dated Oct. 17. Eddie said it appears that Rivet failed to advertise calls for bids on some projects, but that "no criminal act has occurred and Mr. Rivet acknowledges and I assume will correct the error in failing to advertise."

Rivet, on Tuesday, said the result of the investigation is as expected.

"I was incredibly confident at the time these issues were raised that this would prove to be a politically motivated effort," Rivet said. "That people's time, and some taxpayer money, was spent on this is unfortunate."

State police began a probe into the Drain Office in September based on a tip from Nelson H. Niederer, Rivet's Republican opponent in the Nov. 4 election. Rivet acknowledged that he failed to publish calls for bids on some drain projects, instead sending out letters to selected contractors inviting sealed bids on projects worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Niederer said he's not willing to let the matter go, and is consulting with "two state senators" and others about next steps to take.

"He was doing things illegal whether it was a little bit illegal or whatever," Niederer said Tuesday, adding that he's been receiving positive feedback from residents about the issue he helped bring to light.

The Michigan Drain Code requires the drain commissioner to advertise for bids for projects that will cost more than $5,000, but, as Eddie wrote in the letter clearing Rivet, "it does not within the statue define" the term "advertising."

The statute does make mention to publishing in a newspaper, and Rivet says it is his policy to do so, even though he said an attorney general opinion from 1944 says it is not necessary to advertise for bids for "maintenance projects." Rivet said the projects in question were maintenance projects, and he sent out letters to qualified contractors inviting sealed bids.

"The only potential error would be in adherence to an internal policy," Rivet said. "There were no legal errors whatsoever. The drain code is relatively complicated and can be interpreted in many ways."

A second issue noted in the investigation by Detective Sgt. Don Rauschenberger concerned allegations that Rivet collected campaign contributions from business owners seeking contracts. "A review of Mr. Rivet's campaign finance report shows only one contribution from such an individual for $100 and it was on a date when a number of other contributions were listed," Eddie wrote.

Rivet, a Democrat from Bangor Township, is a former state representative who was elected drain commissioner in 2004.